He slumped into one of the armchairs, sticking one leg out straight.He was too tall for the little bit of feminine furniture, and he should have looked absurd.He looked sprawling and dangerous instead.“You are making this very difficult, Sybil.”
“Do you want to know a secret about me?”
“Not particularly.”
“I’m more mischievous than most think I am.”
“Hah.That’s not a secret.You’re a menace.”
“Thank you.”
“Not a compliment.”
She looked at him hard, willing him to look up at her, but he refused, so finally she said, “To my mother and father, I am a bright and helpful eldest daughter.To Temple, I am an innocent angel in need of protection.To my other siblings, I’m something of a second mother.I soothe and organize and sketch in my notebook and make little inventions my father can bring to life in his forge, all to make our home run more smoothly.But when they’re not looking, I play with fire.And…” Time to be truthful.She’d not planned on it when she’d started this little speech, but it was like steam leaking from a teapot.The pressure must escape.And with this man, she’d never had to hide the truth of herself, not once in their short acquaintance.What an unexpected joy it was, and she wouldn’t hide now.Not from him, not even if what happened next hurt a little bit.“That is why, I think, I’d like to kiss you again.”
With the slow, meticulous movements of a predatory feline, he leaned forward, muscles bunching and extending as he braced his forearms on his thighs and threaded his hands together in the attitude of prayer.He hung his head, his hair obscuring his eyes.
“I am fire?”he asked, voice low and deadly.
She nodded, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her cheek atop them.
“Forget the kiss, Sybil.”
She sighed.“That is likely the best course of action.Anyway, the kiss could not have been as good as I remember it.A good thing, too.I must not allow myself to get distracted.I have much to do—lead and gold, the device, and I must write a letter to Diana.She may know about a myth or story concerning the subject.”
Apollo’s jaw tightened.“Not… good?You think that kiss was?—”
“Horrible.But the excitement of the moment leant it… heat it would not have otherwise possessed.”
He prowled toward the bed, and she sat up straighter, every muscle coming alive.He stopped just before her, and though his hands were in his pockets, she felt as if he were stroking those long, elegant fingers down her cheek, her neck…
“Don’t you think?”she whispered.
“I.Do.Not.”Then he was touching her, putting a finger just beneath her chin and lifting it.That single touch unraveled her, and she brought her knees to the edge of the bed, her feet to the floor to shift closer to him.
“We disagree, then.”She sounded so very breathy.“Too bad we’ll never know who is right.”
“I know what you’re doing.You’re a vixen, trying to play me like a flute to your own tune.”
She leaned forward, bit her lip.“Is it working?”
He kissed her.
Hands sinking into the hair at her nape, lips slanting firm across her own.Her heart fluttered up to meet the caress.
And then it was over, and he was staring down at her, lips parted and eyes wild.“Wasthathorrible?”Before she could answer, he kissed her again, harder this time.He pressed her into the mattress, opening her mouth with his tongue.She grasped the edges of his waistcoat because it seemed the only thingtodo.
“Isthishorrible?”he growled into the kiss.
“So very.”Not at all.She arched into him with a shaky exhalation.
He touched her as he never had before, letting his hands roam lower, fingernails scraping over the sides of her bodice-covered breasts, her ribs, where he flattened his palms before smoothing his big hands up to cup her breasts.
“You like that,” he whispered near her ear, the heat of his breath tickling her neck.
“Yes.Do you?”
“Holy Hades, I’ve never felt the like.But don’t you dare smile.”He kissed the grin right off her face.“No matter how good it is, it cannot happen, do you understand?A kiss like this can’t be tamed, can’t be controlled.This kiss goes everywhere, strips us both bare.”
